1st National Forum on Tech Assessment and IPR on AANR (2019)

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

Mr. Caezar Angelito E. Arceo – (Technology Assessment of Research and Development (R&D) Projects in AANR)

Mr. Caezar Angelito E. Arceo talked on “Technology Assessment of Research and Development (R&D) Projects in AANR” and provided insights on assessing local technologies which PCAARRD commissioned to TAPI and also presented a new tool that was developed for this purpose.

He is a Supervising Science Research Specialist at the Invention Development Division of the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI). Being a registered patent agent in the Philippines, he has already handled over 300 patent applications both local and abroad since 2006. He is also a pro bono patent attorney of the World Intellectual Property Organization under its Inventor Assistance Program.

Prior to his being a patent agent and a proud DOST employee, Mr. Arceo was involved in several types of research on rice heterosis and crop production and has completed several projects in agricultural production where he was able to publish some of his works and obtain research awards, such as the AFMA R&D Paper Award in 2002.

He has either authored or co-authored several papers and books on IP, the most recent of which as the main author of the first-ever book Freedom To Operate (FTO) in the country. He is an incorporator and presently a director of the Association of PAQE Professionals, the sole association of patent agents in the country. Mr. Arceo is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst, one of a few in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Arceo holds a BS in Agriculture degree as Cum laude from the Tarlac Agricultural University, and a Master in Public Administration from the Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation.

Mr. Noel A. Catibog – (Intellectual Property (IP) Rights Protection of AANR Technologies in the Philippines)

Mr. Noel A. Catibog talked on “Intellectual Property (IP) Rights Protection of AANR Technologies in the Philippines” and discussed the current efforts of protecting the IP assets from agricultural R&D in the country. He motivated a discussion on what else can be done to exploit these IP assets.

Mr. Catibog is presently the Officer-in-Charge of Technology Transfer and Promotion Division of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD); and serves as the Center Manager of the DOST-PCAARRD Innovation and Technology Center (DPITC). He is a Certified Patent Agent, having passed the 2009 Patent Agent Qualifying Exam administered by the European Patent Office and the Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) of the Philippines. He is currently the Vice President of the Association of PAQE Professionals, the sole association of patent agents in the country. His IP management experience started in 2002 when he served as a member of a team that conducted an IP Audit of Biotech Projects.

Since then, he has completed a 2-month research fellowship at the Queen Mary IP Research Institute in London, England, and participated in numerous local and international IP trainings and seminars. He has served as a resource person in at least three local IP trainings per year since 2009. He was a member of the Technical Working Group that crafted the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009, and the DOST policies on intellectual property and technology transfer protocol. He is a pro bono patent attorney of the World Intellectual Property Organization under its Inventor Assistance Program.

Mr. Catibog holds a BS degree in Agriculture, Major in Plant Pathology and an MS degree in Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Management from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). He is currently taking up his Ph.D. in Development Studies at UPLB.

Mr. Roberto R. Verzosa – (Global Perspectives on IP in AI)

Mr. Roberto R. Verzosa handled “Global Perspectives on IP in AI” to re-echo the results of an international forum on IP in AI which he and Ms. Saet were instructed by the DOST to attend in Singapore, in an effort of TAPI to strengthen its IPR Assistance Program for emerging technologies in the country. He also presented some prospects that the participants may consider for future R&D collaborations.

Mr. Verzosa is a Senior Science Research Specialist at the Invention Development Division of the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI). He is a registered patent agent in the Philippines. At the DOST-TAPI, he manages programs of assistance related to testing and concept prototyping. He has attended various training and seminars relating to IP both local and abroad.

Mr. Verzosa obtained his electrical engineering degree from Mapua Institute of Technology, and his Master in Public Management major in Technology Enterprise Development at the Ateneo University School of Government. Mr. Verzosa has also completed training programs on IP management, among others, through the Distance Learning Program of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Ms. Anna Liza B. Saet – (Local Perspectives on Patenting AI)

Ms. Anna Liza B. Saet discussed the “Local Perspectives on Patenting AI”. Ms. Saet was with Mr. Verzosa in Singapore to participate in an international forum on IP in AI, and was tasked to re-echo the seminar through a national forum like this. As a value added, she took this forum as an opportunity and talked about how R&D institutions could be able to protect their respective AI-based innovations in accordance with our patenting regulations.

Ms. Saet is a Science Research Specialist II at the Invention Development Division of the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI). She is a licensed agriculturist and a registered patent agent in the Philippines. She is an in-house patent agent of TAPI and has drafted and filed patent applications since 2014. She handles the Invent School Program, one of the two banner programs of her division.

She holds a BS in Agriculture from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and a Master in Laws from Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea, specializing in IP, where she finished her work on.

Atty. Editha R. Hechanova – (Technology Assessment Through Patent Mapping in AANR)

Atty. Editha R. Hechanova presented some very important insights on “Technology Assessment Through Patent Mapping in AANR”. The topic aimed to stimulate discussions on how technologies can be assessed through patent mapping, which is not yet being practiced in the country. The talk also introduced the audience to the next topics on “The Value of Patent Information When Taking Strategic Action” and “Patent Landscaping in AANR”.

Atty. Hechanova is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst (CPVA) and currently the President of the Association of PAQE Professionals, the sole association of patent agents in the country. She is the Managing Partner of the Hechanova Group, a top IP filer in the country. She is an accredited mediator of the Court of Appeals, IPOPHL/WIPO, and arbitrator. She has been cited as Leading Lawyer in the field of Intellectual Property Law in the Philippines by the AsiaLaw Magazine, from 2002 to 2018, and Who’s Who Legal Trademarks 2012, to 2018, and an MIP IP Star. Her law firm Hechanova Bugay Vilchez & Andaya-Racadio has been cited as the winner of the 2017 ASIA IP in Trademarks. She has been cited by the Asia Business Law Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines for 2018 and is a regular contributor to various local and international bulletins and other publications.

Atty. Hechanova graduated from the University of the East with a business degree, major in Accounting, Magna Cum laude. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She obtained her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and a Certificate in Strategic Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific. She is an alumna of the South East Asia Patent Drafting Course (SEAD) conducted by the Federation des Conseils en Propriete Intellectuelle (FICPI), an international organization of patent and IP practitioners.

Dr. Linus Plym Forshell – (The Value of Patent Information When Taking Strategic Action)

Dr. Linus Plym Forshell handled “The Value of Patent Information When Taking Strategic Action” and provided some foreign insights on exploiting patent information through patent landscaping, which can be very useful for our local scientists, technology transfer professionals, and policymakers.

Dr. Forshell is a Patent Engineer at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) based in Stockholm. As a patent examiner at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, Dr. Forshell reviews national and international patent applications in the biotech field. He also conducts FTO searches, validity searches, novelty searches, patent portfolio searches, patent family searches and performs landscape analysis. As a member of the PRV presentation group, he gives lectures on the basics of patenting, the patent system, patent searching and patent information for various audiences.

Dr. Forshell has a Bachelors degree in Chemistry and a Masters degree in Molecular Biology from Stockholm University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Umeå University, Sweden. His Ph.D. studies focused on clarifying mechanism behind tumorigenesis in lymphocytes, where he has generated extensive experience in planning and leading advanced courses for people from all over the world. He has postdoctoral works on cell line production and analysis.

Atty. Mary Grace Cruz-Yap – (Patent Landscaping in AANR)

As the newly appointed Director of the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau (DITTB) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the Forum was considered as a welcome talk for Atty. Mary Grace Cruz-Yap. She presented “Patent Landscaping in AANR” to show some results of the project on patent landscaping of selected agricultural and aquatic commodities that PCAARRD commissioned the IPOPHL to perform.

Atty. Bayani B. Loste – (Open Forum)

Atty. Bayani B. Loste brought his expertise to the event as the Moderator during the Open Forum where current issues and prospects for technology assessment and IPR protection in AANR were discussed.

Atty. Loste is the Founding President of the Association of PAQE Professionals, the sole association of patent agents in the country. He heads the Intellectual Property practice group of Fortun Narvasa Salazar Law Offices and has worked with several litigation teams of Firm before carving out his own intellectual property practice in 2006 after he was invited to join the Partnership.

Aside from handling IP cases, Atty. Loste also actively prosecutes patents as he is one of the few Philippine lawyers who passed the IPOPHL’s Patent Agent Qualifying Examinations. He is now actively involved in professionalizing the patent practice in the country and in training future patent practitioners through the APP. He also teaches IP fundamentals and patent drafting at a technical institute and in numerous trainings and seminars sponsored by the IPOPHL and the Department of Science and Technology. Atty. Loste is a pro bono patent attorney of the World Intellectual Property Organization under its Inventor Assistance Program.

Atty. Loste obtained his AB in Social Sciences as Cum laude from the University of the Philippines Baguio, and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law.